Charlotte Takes Crown From Cougars

HOUSTON, Texas - For the first time since the inception of Conference USA five years ago, the league will crown a new indoor champion. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte held off a furious last-day challenge from the four-time conference champion, Houston Cougars, to nail down its first Conference USA Indoor Track and Field championship, which concluded today in the Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Houston.

Charlotte finally finished off the Cougars with an impressive performance in the 3,000 meters,the second to last event of the day. The 49ers placed second, fourth and eighth, while the Cougars came within two seconds of one point in the eighth-place slot. The Cougars last hope for its fifth straight title came to an end in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing second to Memphis, while Charlotte took third. The 49ers edged out the Cougars in points, 148-143.

Charlotte head coach David Hall was unanimously selected as Conference USA Coach of the Year for leading the 49ers to the upset of the Cougars. His distance runner extraordinaire, Kenneth Svendsen, took the Athlete of the Year award after winning the 5,000 meters, finishing second in the mile (4:13.35) and the 3,000 meters (8:25.46) and anchoring the distance medley squad that finished fourth.

Houston freshman Juan Cardenas took home the C-USA Freshman of the Year award,the second straight year a Cougar has been so honored (Robert Foster in 2000). Cardenas kept the Cougars' last ditch effort alive with his impressive first-place finish in the 800 meters.

Memphis' Larry Crawford staked his claim as the league's fastest runner, capturing the 60 meters in a time of 6.73. Memphis also grabbed both the distance medley and mile relay titles, and Stefan Matschiner was the individual champion in the 5,000 meters, enabling the Tigers to take third behind Houston.

For DePaul, a pair of juniors claimed conference championships. Matt Plano ran one of his best miles of the season crossing the tape in 4:13.30 edge out Charlotte's Svendson by .05 seconds. Frank Guzman also turned in one of his best performances of the year. The junior thrower claimed the shot put title with a heave of 57' 11 3/4", his best so far this season. The mark also betters his provisionally qulifying throw of 57-7 two weeks ago.

2001 Conference USA Men's Indoor Track and Field
Championship Results
Hosted by Houston

Final Results
Team Standings

Place   School          Score
1.      Charlotte       148
2.      Houston         143
3.      Memphis         127
4.      DePaul          70
5.      Marquette       66
6.      Tulane          62

Event                 Champion                    Time/Distance
60M Dash              Larry Crawford, Memphis      6.73
60M Hurdles           Greg Christie, Houston       7.96
200M Dash             Robert Foster, Houston       21.35
400M Dash             Adam Evans, Charlotte        48.69
800M Dash             Juan Cardenas, Houston       1:55.05
Mile Run              Matt Plano, DePaul           4:13.30
3000M Run             Stefan Matschiner, Memphis   8:25.46
5000M Run             Kenneth Svendsen, Charlotte  14:31.46
4X400M Relay          Memphis 3:17.26
Distance Medley Relay Memphis 10:12.02
High Jump             Jeff Mueller, Houston        2.17m/7-1.50
Long Jump             Will Montgomery, Charlotte   7.50m/24-7.25
Triple Jump           Carl White, Tulane           15.61m/51-2.75
Shot Put              Frank Guzman, DePaul         17.67m/57-11.75
35-lb. Weight Throw   Matt Rausch, Charlotte       18.54m/60-10
Pole Vault            Andrew Martin, Houston       4.75m/15-7

Coach of the Year
David Hall, Charlotte

Athlete of the Year
Kenneth Svendsen, Charlotte

Freshman of the Year
Juan Cardenas, Houston

DePaul University Athletics

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